Chapter 2 – Forget Worries Bar

There were too many strange people and things in the world of Lu Chen’s dream. Even though the history and science were the same, the culture – music, film, and literature – was very different.

The singers, celebrities, music, films, and literature that Lu Chen were familiar with didn’t exist in the world of Lu Chen’s dreams, but the dream world also didn’t lack celebrities, famous pieces of literature, and famous works of art. So much so that the amount actually exceeded the real world.

Song Master was regarded as a divine tool for composition. The software incorporated tools for composing, arranging, mixing, and exporting all into one software along with a large, cloud-based library that contained a large amount of materials. In addition, the low skill level that is required made it possible for everybody to use, regardless if it was a hobbyist or a professional.

Lu Chen studied computers in college, and, coupled with his love of music, made him begin to use Song Master to compose and arrange songs fairly early.

Only, the songs he worked on before were to entertain himself, and, even after more than a year, there still wasn’t a completed song.

As for quality, there really was no reason to speak more about it.

However, now, relying on the memories from his dreams, Lu Chen didn’t even need half an hour to complete two songs.

After he finished arranging the songs, Lu Chen performed the songs a couple of times and fixed a few errors in the songs.

Finally, he sent the two completed songs to the Greater China Music Database to check the copyright.

The Greater China Music Database was established by the Chinese Cultural Bureau, Chinese Copyright Bureau, Chinese Musicians Association and Chinese Performer’s Association. It is a website that verifies and registers music copyrights in addition to facilitating transactions related to the music copyrights. The database has more than twenty years of history and has unparalleled authority for music copyrights.

The website platform was open to everybody and offered complete services, but it wasn’t without a cost.

Each copyright inquiry costs a hundred RMB. Two songs would require Lu Chen to spend two hundred precious RMB from his bank account. That was equivalent to his living costs for ten days!

The inquiry process was very slow. The music database compared the score to previously registered works for a comprehensive assessment as to whether or not there were similarities, and, if there were similarities, whether or not it was plagiarism.

Greater China Music Database has an enormous database. Assessing and comparing new songs require tremendous processing power. Even though there was a supercomputer supporting the process, the process still required a certain amount of time to complete.

Even if the wait was longer, Lu Chen would still patiently wait because this was a necessary step to register his copyrights and an important basis of comparison between the real world and the dream world.

The time kept ticking by, Lu Chen sat in front of the computer, intently staring at the progress bar without blinking.

His heart had never been as restless as it was now.

The tension was killing him because he knew that this was his only chance to change his, and his family’s, fate.

Ding!

It was as if a whole century had passed before a green alert popped up on his computer screen.

Inquiry successful!

Lu Chen slowed for a second and didn’t instantly respond.

Ding!

The same alert popped up again.

Inquiry successful!

This time, Lu Chen finally realized that the two songs he uploaded completely passed the Greater China Music Database’s copyright inquiry. He could now register his songs and possess the complete copyright to the songs!

The new moment, a great joy and excitement overwhelmed Lu Chen. He couldn’t help but clench his fists and wave it about. He wanted to shout into the sky to express his current mood.

Yes! He really could do it!!

However, the business was not done. He restrained his inner excitement and clicked on the copyright registration.

The copyright registration cost was much higher than the inquiry. Each song required five hundred RMB, and an annual storage fee every year after registering to prevent copyright violation issues.

Lu Chen was a member of Greater China Music Database since its early days. After experiencing the inquiry process, Lu Chen quickly paid a thousand RMB for the songs and the songs were swiftly registered.

With the completion of the registration alert, Lu Chen finally managed to relax.

However, the happiness in his heart continued to increase without pause because he confirmed that the memories he obtained from his dreams were real!

Leaning back on the chair, Lu Chen let out a sigh.

He reached out to open the desk drawer and grabbed an instant noodle cup and a sausage.

He thought for a second then pulled out another sausage – he was happy today, more food!

He stood up and went to the restroom to fill the water boiler with water and plugged in the water boiler for power. Very quickly, the boiling hot water was ready and, subsequently, poured into the cup of instant noodles.

The familiar smell of instant noodles and a sense of joy filled the air!

It wasn’t that Lu Chen didn’t want to eat out and eat an actual meal. The amount of money left in his bank after paying for the inquiry and registration fees was barely more than a hundred RMB.

As for his pocket money, there wasn’t even fifty RMB.

However, there was still half a month before he got his salary!

This measly amount of money wasn’t even sufficient for food. Despite this, Lu Chen didn’t get flustered. He finished the instant noodles, tidied up, and left the basement with his guitar in his guitar case.

Lu Chen took the subway. By the time he reached Forget Worries Bar in Houhai, it was already eight o’clock.

Even though Houhai’s name had “sea” in it 1, in reality, it was a huge man-made lake. In the ancient times, the imperial used the clear pond. It is a part of the Shichahai2. To the east was Dianmen Outer Street, to the west was the Xinjiekou Subdistrict, to the south was Pingan Street, and to the north was the Second Ring Road.3

During the Yuan dynasty, Houhai was a prosperous business district in the large metropolis. Following the bank, there were taverns, stages, artisan workshops, and stores were everywhere. In the periphery, the former residences of nobility and famous poets could be found everywhere. To this day, Houhai was still the center of the capital.

Houhai is prosperous, even more than it was in the past. There were a steady stream of people every day. At night, all the bars light up their signboards and welcomed customers that enjoy the nightlife.

Houhai’s snacks were famous but its bars were even more famous.

Forget Worries Bar was one of the hundreds of Houhai bars and the place where Lu Chen worked at night.

“Little Lu, why are you late?”

The waiter standing at the bar’s doorway saw Lu Chen hurriedly rushing over and jeered, “Aren’t you usually the most punctual? Did you see a beauty and forgot the time today?”

Lu Chen shot him a look but didn’t say anything. He pushed open the door and stepped into the bar.

This guy’s age was similar to Lu Chen. He had worked at Forget Worries Bar longer than Lu Chen. The two of them originally didn’t have any grudges but he was admonished by the owner a few times for being late and caused him to harbor resentment towards Lu Chen.

The owner used the punctual Lu Chen as a point of comparison when he lectured the other guy. Lu Chen can be considered as figuratively “being shot while lying down”; he really was accused wrongly.

There was also another important reason. Among the waiters at Forget Worries Bar, Lu Chen was undoubtedly the most handsome, leaving the other guy that had a face full of acne far behind. The amount of tips that Lu Chen earned from his face was not little.

With a heart full of jealousy, the guy seized the chance to mock and ridicule Lu Chen. Lu Chen knew that there was no point in trying to talk reason and didn’t want to cause a disturbance so he treated the guy like he was air.

Ignoring them was actually a powerful way to counterattack.

It still wasn’t the prime time for nightlife and the amount of customers wasn’t that large.

Forget Worry Bar could be considered a moderate sized bar at Houhai. It was built from a warehouse and its 2.6 meter height was split into two floors. The middle of the bar was suspended. There was a stage with lighting, curtains, acoustics, etc.

Around the middle stage, there were a total of ten wine tables arranged on the first and second floor and scattered seats in front of the stage. The seating could accommodate two hundred customers at most. The decorations was said to have cost around two million RMB.

When Lu Chen came in, the boss of the bar, Chen Jianhao, was calculating the inventory. A charming woman sat beside him, unhurriedly sipping a blue cocktail.

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment then carried his guitar case over and said, “sorry Boss, I was late today.”

His shift was at 7:30 PM and it was already 8:00 PM, he was thirty minutes late.

Chen Jianhao is a middle aged man that is around forty-years-old. However, he looked no more than thirty. His figure was well proportioned and his clothes were exquisite. He gave off the feeling of a successful person and possessed a elegant and scholarly temperament.

Over the past six months that he worked here, Lu Chen knew that his boss didn’t like others being late and liked excuses even less so he straightforwardly admitted his mistake.

Chen Jianhao put down the pen in his hand and lightly said, “I’ll let you off this time, don’t let it happen again.”

According to the bar’s rules, if a waiter arrived late, his wages would be deducted. However, Lu Chen always performed well and, coupled with the fact that this was his first offense, Chen Jianhao went easy on him.

Lu Chen secretly let out a sigh of relief and promptly said, “thank you boss.”

“Oh yeah…”

Chen Jianhao said, “Sister Na and Little Handsome will be a little late. You will be warming up the stage today.”

Lu Chen nodded his head and agreed, “Ok!”

Unknowingly, he realized that the charming woman that was beside Chen Jianhao was looking towards him, a hint of mirth in her eyes.

The lady had on a blue dress, her hair was pulled into a bun, and possessed a elegant yet enchanting physique. There was light makeup on the delicate face and her eyes were as beautiful as a fox.

As their eyesights met, this charming woman’s mouth curved upwards and winked towards Lu Chen. Her fox-like eyes hooked onto his soul and revealed a crafty and seductive look.

Evil spirit!

Lu Chen’s heart skipped a beat and he quickly turned his head towards the backstage and walked towards it.

He was afraid if he looked at this strange lady any more, he would lose control on the spot and humiliate himself.

This evil spirit in the form of a human was not something mortals could control.

Behind him, a woman’s laughter sounded out.

Chen Jianhao helplessly looked on and said “Little Mei, why are you teasing my waiter?”

The lady used her right hand to lift the fine black hair from her temple, her left hand gently moving the wine glas and said, “because I like it…”

Chen Jianhao was speechless and forced out a smile.

Houhai is 后海 and sea is 海 hence why Houhai is said to have “sea” in its name

Shichahai is a historic scenic area consisting of three lakes in the north of central Beijing in China.